Because of our desire to be entertained, thrilled, and stimulated, a wide variety of amusement devices, rides, and vehicles have been created. Such devices exist both in public settings such as amusement parks, municipal parks, and schools—and in private settings such as backyard swing-sets and “jungle gyms”, etc. A key element in all such devices is providing an experience of fun for the user, whether they are a child, an adolescent, or an adult. The most classic forms of such devices provide the thrill of motion, including from see-saws, merry-go-rounds, swings, slides, and the like. Perhaps the most popular of these are self-propelled—since they place the user in charge of the intensity of the ride they experience.
Early occupant propelled amusement devices required an operator to continuously move those devices at a desired speed while he or she and any other occupants may enjoy the ride. One example of these devices may include a bicycle driven merry-go-round, which may have a center post, a platform rotatably carried by the center post and one or more bicycles secured to the platform. In use, an operator may operate the bicycle thereby spinning the platform about the center post and permitting occupants on the platform to enjoy the ride. The bicycles may spin the platform provided that the operators continuously operate their respective bicycles because the rolling friction associated with the bicycles may quickly decelerate the platform when the operators elect to cruise rather than pedal.
Most recent merry-go-rounds do not use the bicycles and require and individual to run alongside the platform to push it until it reaches a desired speed and then jump onto the platform to enjoy the ride along with other occupants on the platform. However, it may require more energy to spin these merry-go-rounds as compared to the predecessor merry-go-rounds that included bicycles. In addition, it may be somewhat difficult to board the platform after pushing it to spin at a generally high speed.